Chapter 2: Making rounds.
When Eleanor stepped onto the bridge of her new intreprid class starship, the USS Dynamo, for the first time her heart stopped for just a moment. Just the thought that this was her bridge was almost too much to bear. There were not many crewmembers on the bridge since this was just a drop- off mission. She went straight for the man in the Captains chair.
"Hi, my name is Eleanor Ricards."
"Oh, so you're the lucky stiff who got this assignment. It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander Steve Maxwell at your service."
"Nice to meet you Steve, and thank you for bringing me my ship."
"Well, not only did I bring you your ship, I also brought along some of your senior staff. May I present Lieutenant Jesad, your chief of security."
He indicated the Vulcan who very soundlessly had moved in behind Eleanor. She turned to face him and Eleanor shook his hand despite the fact that she knew that Vulcans were not to fond of physical touch.
"Captain Ricards, let me express my gratitude for being allowed to serve you on this particular mission. It is an honor to be here."
"Thank you Lieutenant. And let me assure you that you were chosen for this mission because I felt you were the right man for the job. It is always wise to bring a Vulcan along, especially as a security officer. That way we can all fell completely safe."
"Indeed you can."
"Well, a Vulcan or a Klingon would be ideal. But since Klingons tend to get a bit volatile I chose to go with the Vulcan approach."
"A prudent choice."
"I thought so. Especially since I tend to get a bit volatile myself. I may need, hell even depend on your calm, cool and collected logical Vulcan advise many times."
"I will not let you down Captain."
Eleanor turned to Commander Maxwell again.
"Well, who else is onboard of my senior staff?"
"Your Chief Engineer is down in Engineering getting acquainted with everything there. And your good Doctor is in sickbay doing the same thing. But that is just the senior staff, as far as I know some of your crew is on Deep Space Nine and I have some with me here. The rest of your crew will arrive over the next two days as I was told."
"Thank you Commander, you are dismissed now."
As the Commander left the bridge Eleanor turned back Jesad again.
"Right, Mr. Jesad, I want you to find out exactly how many crewmembers are onboard, how many are on Deep Space Nine and how many we are waiting for. You can tell they ones on Deep Space Nine to get their buts up here and settle in. And I want to know whom we are still waiting for and when and how they will arrive. Report back to me in an hour. In the meantime I will go down to Engineering and Sickbay and pay my respects."
"Yes Sir."
After that long speech Eleanor left the bridge leaving Jesad to his task.
* * *
When Eleanor entered the Engine room she was meet with a lot more excitement than there had been on the bridge. All around her people were running around trying to get everything organized. It seemed that there was always something that needed improving in Engineering, no matter what ship you were on. She looked around at all the new faces that were working with dedication. No one seemed to notice her though, but she didn't mind. Suddenly she recognized Lieutenant Commander Bail Tessa from her profile picture and she went over to greet her.
"Commander Bail?"
"Yes, what is it now. I thought I told you a minute ago that I would be there as soon as I finish this."
She stopped in mid sentence when she looked up and saw whom she was addressing.
"Oh, Captain, I'm sorry, I thought you were."
"No apology necessary, I know how it gets down here sometimes. I just came down to introduce myself and see how things were going. So let me formally do just that. I am Captain Eleanor Ricards and I look forward to working with you."
"Lieutenant Commander Bail Tessa at your service Sir."
"So, Commander Bail, how are things going. Will we be ready for departure on time?"
"Yes Sir, as soon as I get the rest of my engineering staff down here we will be fine."
"How many people are still missing?"
"20. But they can't all work at the same time anyway, so it's no big deal. But to be honest I could use an extra hand around here."
"Well, feel free to pull in some extra assistance from the security staff. I have to be on my way now, I just wanted to say hello."
"Okay, thank you Captain."
* * *
Eleanor left them to sort out the engineering problems as she headed for sickbay. Tessa seemed to be on top of things, but then she had chosen her because she was the best. She had come highly recommended from her last posting. So had her Doctor, in fact he was.
Eleanor stopped mid thought, because when she entered sickbay it was completely empty, or so it seemed at first. Then she noticed a young man with blond hair standing of in a far corner apparently cataloging the medical surplices. He apparently didn't hear her come in, so she cleared her troth and.
"Doctor Matthew Walker?"
He didn't even jump up, drop something or twitch in the least bit. That was what Eleanor would have done had she been surprised in her own thoughts like that. He must be very much in control of himself she mused. Then she laughed inwardly., of course he was in control of himself, he was a doctor, that sort of thing might be practical. She looked at him and noticed that he had a very warm and inviting smile, and when he came closer she noticed his eyes were a beautiful deep blue shade that you could almost drown in.
"Captain Eleanor Ricards. What an honor to meet you, I have heard so much about you."
"Thank you. Doctor, may I ask why sickbay is empty? Has none of your staff arrived yet?"
"Oh they're mostly here already, I just sent them away."
"You did what? Why did you do that?"
"Well I wanted to be alone here first, get to know the place, bond with it."
"You wanted to bond with a room?"
"I know that probably sounds a bit strange to you, but that's just my way of being at peace with my surroundings, I need to be alone with them first and cleans out all possible evil. That way I work better when my staff and my patients are around."
"So, is all the evil cleansed or did I interrupt?"
"No, this place is fine now."
"So do you need to do this with the bridge too before you can go there?"
"No, just sickbay, just my working area."
"Good, I think it would take to much time to do it in all the rooms."
"I must say you are taking this very well Captain, most people think I'm strange when they hear this."
"Well, I'm not most people am I now? No, no, strange is good. I always say that being normal is overrated. To tell you the truth I'm a little strange myself, so we should get on marvelously."
He laughed out loud and gave Eleanor a friendly slap on the shoulder.
"I have a feeling that we are going to work very well together Captain."
"Me too Matt, I can call you Matt can't I?"
"Sure."
"There is just one thing I need to know Matt."
"What's that Captain?"
"Do you know how to play poker?"
* * *
When Eleanor returned to the bridge she found Jesad working at a console , engrossed in his work. She went over to join him.
"Report!"
He turned to face her and started his report a second later.
"We have 52 crewmembers onboard including ourselves. 35 crewmembers are on Deep Space Nine, but they are all on their way up now. That means that only 40 are still missing and they will arrive on different transports over the next two days. I have made a list of arrival times and have also listed the names of the transport ships they are coming on." He handed Eleanor the data padd that contained the list and she quickly looked it over.
"Very good work Mr. Jesad, you're dismissed."
Jesad left the bridge leaving Eleanor to study the list in detail.
* * *
Two days later Eleanor was sitting in her new quarters on the Dynamo. Most of the crew had arrived by now, they were only waiting for the Science officer Danar Ral and a couple of others. Eleanor had met her First Officer yesterday, an enigma to be sure, but she was looking forward to working with Commander Thelloren nevertheless. She had also met with her new helmsman, the half Klingon named D´Anit Carter. She seemed nice enough and she had made a big fuss about working with Eleanor, seeing as she was quite the legend on the Klingon Homeworld. Eleanor had been the first non-Klingon to win a Bat´telh contest and had made quite a name for herself among the Klingons after that, she had many friends on the Homeworld, friend in high places. And now that the alliance with the Klingons was shaky that came in handy sometimes. Her train of thought was interrupted by Jesads voice on the comm. line.
"Jesad to Ricards."
"Go ahead."
"The USS Combre has arrived and Mr. Ral and the others are here."
"Great, would you send Commander Ral down to my quarters immediately so I can say hello to him."
"Aye Sir, he is on his way."
"Very well, Ricards out.
A couple of minutes later the doorbell chimed and when Eleanor said, "Come in" she watched a male Trill enter her quarters.
"Lieutenant Commander Danar Ral reporting for duty Sir."
"As you were. That was quick I must say. Well it's nice to finally meet you Mr. Ral."
"Likewise Sir, I'm sorry it took me so long to get here."
"No matter, as long as you're here now. Have you had a chance to see your quarters yet?"
"No Sir, I came straight down to see you."
"Well, why don't you get settled in and I will see you on the bridge in three hours."
"Yes Sir."
"Dismissed."
She leaned back in her chair as he left and mused over her meetings with the crew over the last few days. This was a good ship and she had a great feeling about the crew. Her first command would be a great experience, of that she was sure.
When Eleanor stepped onto the bridge of her new intreprid class starship, the USS Dynamo, for the first time her heart stopped for just a moment. Just the thought that this was her bridge was almost too much to bear. There were not many crewmembers on the bridge since this was just a drop- off mission. She went straight for the man in the Captains chair.
"Hi, my name is Eleanor Ricards."
"Oh, so you're the lucky stiff who got this assignment. It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander Steve Maxwell at your service."
"Nice to meet you Steve, and thank you for bringing me my ship."
"Well, not only did I bring you your ship, I also brought along some of your senior staff. May I present Lieutenant Jesad, your chief of security."
He indicated the Vulcan who very soundlessly had moved in behind Eleanor. She turned to face him and Eleanor shook his hand despite the fact that she knew that Vulcans were not to fond of physical touch.
"Captain Ricards, let me express my gratitude for being allowed to serve you on this particular mission. It is an honor to be here."
"Thank you Lieutenant. And let me assure you that you were chosen for this mission because I felt you were the right man for the job. It is always wise to bring a Vulcan along, especially as a security officer. That way we can all fell completely safe."
"Indeed you can."
"Well, a Vulcan or a Klingon would be ideal. But since Klingons tend to get a bit volatile I chose to go with the Vulcan approach."
"A prudent choice."
"I thought so. Especially since I tend to get a bit volatile myself. I may need, hell even depend on your calm, cool and collected logical Vulcan advise many times."
"I will not let you down Captain."
Eleanor turned to Commander Maxwell again.
"Well, who else is onboard of my senior staff?"
"Your Chief Engineer is down in Engineering getting acquainted with everything there. And your good Doctor is in sickbay doing the same thing. But that is just the senior staff, as far as I know some of your crew is on Deep Space Nine and I have some with me here. The rest of your crew will arrive over the next two days as I was told."
"Thank you Commander, you are dismissed now."
As the Commander left the bridge Eleanor turned back Jesad again.
"Right, Mr. Jesad, I want you to find out exactly how many crewmembers are onboard, how many are on Deep Space Nine and how many we are waiting for. You can tell they ones on Deep Space Nine to get their buts up here and settle in. And I want to know whom we are still waiting for and when and how they will arrive. Report back to me in an hour. In the meantime I will go down to Engineering and Sickbay and pay my respects."
"Yes Sir."
After that long speech Eleanor left the bridge leaving Jesad to his task.
* * *
When Eleanor entered the Engine room she was meet with a lot more excitement than there had been on the bridge. All around her people were running around trying to get everything organized. It seemed that there was always something that needed improving in Engineering, no matter what ship you were on. She looked around at all the new faces that were working with dedication. No one seemed to notice her though, but she didn't mind. Suddenly she recognized Lieutenant Commander Bail Tessa from her profile picture and she went over to greet her.
"Commander Bail?"
"Yes, what is it now. I thought I told you a minute ago that I would be there as soon as I finish this."
She stopped in mid sentence when she looked up and saw whom she was addressing.
"Oh, Captain, I'm sorry, I thought you were."
"No apology necessary, I know how it gets down here sometimes. I just came down to introduce myself and see how things were going. So let me formally do just that. I am Captain Eleanor Ricards and I look forward to working with you."
"Lieutenant Commander Bail Tessa at your service Sir."
"So, Commander Bail, how are things going. Will we be ready for departure on time?"
"Yes Sir, as soon as I get the rest of my engineering staff down here we will be fine."
"How many people are still missing?"
"20. But they can't all work at the same time anyway, so it's no big deal. But to be honest I could use an extra hand around here."
"Well, feel free to pull in some extra assistance from the security staff. I have to be on my way now, I just wanted to say hello."
"Okay, thank you Captain."
* * *
Eleanor left them to sort out the engineering problems as she headed for sickbay. Tessa seemed to be on top of things, but then she had chosen her because she was the best. She had come highly recommended from her last posting. So had her Doctor, in fact he was.
Eleanor stopped mid thought, because when she entered sickbay it was completely empty, or so it seemed at first. Then she noticed a young man with blond hair standing of in a far corner apparently cataloging the medical surplices. He apparently didn't hear her come in, so she cleared her troth and.
"Doctor Matthew Walker?"
He didn't even jump up, drop something or twitch in the least bit. That was what Eleanor would have done had she been surprised in her own thoughts like that. He must be very much in control of himself she mused. Then she laughed inwardly., of course he was in control of himself, he was a doctor, that sort of thing might be practical. She looked at him and noticed that he had a very warm and inviting smile, and when he came closer she noticed his eyes were a beautiful deep blue shade that you could almost drown in.
"Captain Eleanor Ricards. What an honor to meet you, I have heard so much about you."
"Thank you. Doctor, may I ask why sickbay is empty? Has none of your staff arrived yet?"
"Oh they're mostly here already, I just sent them away."
"You did what? Why did you do that?"
"Well I wanted to be alone here first, get to know the place, bond with it."
"You wanted to bond with a room?"
"I know that probably sounds a bit strange to you, but that's just my way of being at peace with my surroundings, I need to be alone with them first and cleans out all possible evil. That way I work better when my staff and my patients are around."
"So, is all the evil cleansed or did I interrupt?"
"No, this place is fine now."
"So do you need to do this with the bridge too before you can go there?"
"No, just sickbay, just my working area."
"Good, I think it would take to much time to do it in all the rooms."
"I must say you are taking this very well Captain, most people think I'm strange when they hear this."
"Well, I'm not most people am I now? No, no, strange is good. I always say that being normal is overrated. To tell you the truth I'm a little strange myself, so we should get on marvelously."
He laughed out loud and gave Eleanor a friendly slap on the shoulder.
"I have a feeling that we are going to work very well together Captain."
"Me too Matt, I can call you Matt can't I?"
"Sure."
"There is just one thing I need to know Matt."
"What's that Captain?"
"Do you know how to play poker?"
* * *
When Eleanor returned to the bridge she found Jesad working at a console , engrossed in his work. She went over to join him.
"Report!"
He turned to face her and started his report a second later.
"We have 52 crewmembers onboard including ourselves. 35 crewmembers are on Deep Space Nine, but they are all on their way up now. That means that only 40 are still missing and they will arrive on different transports over the next two days. I have made a list of arrival times and have also listed the names of the transport ships they are coming on." He handed Eleanor the data padd that contained the list and she quickly looked it over.
"Very good work Mr. Jesad, you're dismissed."
Jesad left the bridge leaving Eleanor to study the list in detail.
* * *
Two days later Eleanor was sitting in her new quarters on the Dynamo. Most of the crew had arrived by now, they were only waiting for the Science officer Danar Ral and a couple of others. Eleanor had met her First Officer yesterday, an enigma to be sure, but she was looking forward to working with Commander Thelloren nevertheless. She had also met with her new helmsman, the half Klingon named D´Anit Carter. She seemed nice enough and she had made a big fuss about working with Eleanor, seeing as she was quite the legend on the Klingon Homeworld. Eleanor had been the first non-Klingon to win a Bat´telh contest and had made quite a name for herself among the Klingons after that, she had many friends on the Homeworld, friend in high places. And now that the alliance with the Klingons was shaky that came in handy sometimes. Her train of thought was interrupted by Jesads voice on the comm. line.
"Jesad to Ricards."
"Go ahead."
"The USS Combre has arrived and Mr. Ral and the others are here."
"Great, would you send Commander Ral down to my quarters immediately so I can say hello to him."
"Aye Sir, he is on his way."
"Very well, Ricards out.
A couple of minutes later the doorbell chimed and when Eleanor said, "Come in" she watched a male Trill enter her quarters.
"Lieutenant Commander Danar Ral reporting for duty Sir."
"As you were. That was quick I must say. Well it's nice to finally meet you Mr. Ral."
"Likewise Sir, I'm sorry it took me so long to get here."
"No matter, as long as you're here now. Have you had a chance to see your quarters yet?"
"No Sir, I came straight down to see you."
"Well, why don't you get settled in and I will see you on the bridge in three hours."
"Yes Sir."
"Dismissed."
She leaned back in her chair as he left and mused over her meetings with the crew over the last few days. This was a good ship and she had a great feeling about the crew. Her first command would be a great experience, of that she was sure.
